Fitness: Stop Smoking

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

05 Aug 2006 02:06 PM

More people smoke than might be imagined despite the numbers that are stopping due to cost, convenience and health. Still, I know a number of smokers, though they are ostracized in public - they still smoke in the privacy of their own home.

Stopping smoking is far more difficult than most non-smokers acknowledge or can understand. Stopping smoking is different for everyone. I've known some who could stop with a patch, a pill or just weaning him or her down until they quit cold turkey.

Be Supportive, Not Condemning

If you smoke or know someone who smokes, a smoker should be supported in his or her quitting efforts - not condemned. Too often, society ostracizes what they don't approve of. Twenty years ago, you could smoke in a movie theater, restaurant and even in a mall. Clothing stores were one of the few places that discouraged smoking on the premises.

Flash forward 20 years later and city after city has restricted smoking to outdoors only. Some companies have even laid off employees who did not undergo smoking cessation program or even had their health insurance canceled due to smoking. While smoking is bad for you, just dismissing a portion of society is not going to make them quit - in some cases - it just makes them more stubborn.

Smoking is an Addiction

Smoking is a drug addiction. It's no different than alcoholism or cocaine abuse. Tobacco is not the problem - nicotine is. In fact, if you could make a nicotine free cigarette - 90% of smokers would likely quit in a month.

So understanding that smoking is an addiction and understanding that everyone copes and stops smoking in a different fashion. Knowing this, the following tips are designed to help the smoker who is trying to quit achieve some inner peace and comfort as they make their journey from smoker to non-smoker.

• Practice visualization - every night before going to bed - spend five to ten minutes imagining your life as a non-smoker. Imagine the meals, the drinks and the lack of having to go out into the heat or the cold
• Discover Substitution Comfort - Smokers have a hand/mouth habit and sometimes it can help to find something to take the place of the cigarette in your hand and your mouth - Telly Savalas used lollipops
• Making Smoking a Conscious Choice - If you smoke indoors, restrict smoking to outside your house, have your carpets cleaned, wash down your clothes and furniture - remove all ashtrays and items that promote smoking indoors - give yourself an uncomfortable place to go that doesn't prevents you from just lighting up without thinking ahead
• Keep a Smoker's Journal - Make it a point to write down your thoughts and feelings before every cigarette - if you have to write down what you are thinking and feeling each time you have a cigarette, you may very well distract yourself from the cigarette altogether; at the very least - you will be able to note certain patterns that help you modify your behavior and the triggers that send you reaching for a cigarette
• Take Control - Some people smoke because they get the jitters from being nervous, upset or angry - take control of your emotions - practice deep breathing techniques and make a commitment to taking five minutes of breathing exercises before going to have that cigarette
• Practice Self-Affirmation - Repeat to yourself at regular intervals throughout the day: I do not need cigarettes. I do not want cigarettes. I can enjoy my life far more as a non-smoker.
• First Thing in the Morning - Develop a routine that requires at least thirty minutes before you go to have your first cigarette in the morning. Build up to 30 minutes then 60 minutes and then take it longer - before you know it - you won't be smoking in the morning at all
• Avoid Places that Trigger Smoking - If that means skipping happy hour with the coworkers for a while, do it

Smoking is an addiction. There are a number of smoking cessation programs out there and a number of medical aids that can be prescribed by a doctor. But you need more than just an aid, you need support. If money is an issue, be sure to add up the cost of smoking - you may find that the smoking cessation saves you money in the long run.

How did you quit smoking?

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Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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